YouTube has been flooded with goo-gobs of smear ads and “vote for” propaganda in recent weeks, punctuating my latest romp with superhero cartoons. I’m not bitter, though.
I can be a bit apathetic toward all the, “My name is blankety-blank, and I approve this message,” but I recognize that something bigger than red and blue push pins is at stake here.
Hope is on the platform, and people get riled up about hope. It got me thinking about a familiar topic that works people into a similar frenzy.
You can smother it with cynicism, test it in the fires of rationality and nuke it with the latest in scientific developments, but religion just won't go away.
It makes sense, if you ask me.
Humans are captivated by the notion of the divine, as if eternity were written on the hearts of mankind.
By and large, humanity hopes for a way to touch that which is transcendent. Long after we’re all faint memories, people will line up to pledge their spiritual allegiances, just as they did in ages past. But with so many options, what's one to do with the game of rock-paper-scissors that religion often becomes?
I may get myself in trouble with this one.
It's been said that all religions are a pathway up the mountain to God. I'm inclined to agree. My question is: Do they all reach the top?
I'm not playing semantics here. Mankind is constantly seeking to forge a path to God. We’ve got processes and rituals, 30 different flavors of each of the major belief systems, and it seems that everyone knows what the heck is wrong with us, with wildly different ideas on how to make us right again.
If we're strictly talking morality, we end up deadlocked in a number of senses.
Good is the name of the game.
Excuse the oversimplification, but Judaism, Islam and Christianity largely agree on charity, attitudes toward sexuality and personal ethical choices. Buddhism strives for ultimate enlightenment in nirvana, and Hinduism seeks liberation from karmic cycles of rebirth. Personal revelation is a focal point throughout these and other spiritualities.
We've got a lot of options here, folks. This mountain must be steep.
I’ll be the first to admit that it all sounds similar, but don't mistake my intent. I'm not a universalist, despite what my musings may suggest.
I don't think all religions hit the peak, largely because most of them say that “my” effort determines whether I make it.
Fat chance.
I've never known a human who wasn't prone to fail. If we're depending on our own goodness and good works to thrust us up the mountain, we are in bad shape.
In the middle of the incessant frustration of climbing and falling, I heard a peculiar story about the God of the mountain:
Looking on the futility of human effort, he enacted a plan that would end the cycle of failure by revolutionizing the human heart at its core.
The insanity of this plan was rivaled only by its compassion.
What do the people do when the God of the mountain comes down to the base to carry them up to the top?
My best guess is they let him do it, even if it means recognizing that none of their efforts would've gotten them close.
This isn't the paper beats rock or red versus blue foolishness that we're used to.
No one’s piddling with ethical codes here.
The man upstairs just dropped an atom bomb and has effectively cleared the field.
My name is Ryan Galloway, and that is why I love Jesus.
Ryan Galloway is a religion senior at UF. His column runs on Wednesdays. You can contact him at opinions@alligator.org.
